Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Last February, Trinidad and Tobago was praised by many human rights
groups, including the International Press Institute (IPI), for approving
legislation to partially decriminalise defamation. However, today press
freedom advocates in the country are concerned about a cybercrime bill,
currently being discussed in Parliament this week, which in its current
language imposes disturbing restrictions on the work of the media.

"We are extremely concerned that the wide net cast by this bill, the
lack of a public interest defence clause, and the inclusion of some
problematic provisions would lead not only to the criminalisation of
legitimate journalistic activity but also disregard fundamental
journalistic rights and principles," said Alison Bethel McKenzie,
Executive Director of the Vienna-based IPI. "The criminalisation of
defamation defined by Article 21 is in contradiction with recent
amendments to the country's libel law and in breach of international
standards in this area.”

Under Clause 21 (2 and 3) of the proposed Cybercrime Bill, anyone
who damages the reputation of another person; or subjects another person
to public ridicule, contempt, hatred or embarrassment, commits an
offence", among others, faces fines of TTD $100,000 (or € 11,480) and/or
up to three years in jail.

“Furthermore, Clause 23, which imposes liabilities on the 'director,
manager, secretary' of a media company, would necessarily lead to
interference in the editorial process by media owners and publishers, in
breach of the fundamental journalistic principle of editorial
independence,” Bethel McKenzie noted.

Finally, Part IV of the Bill, which includes much needed provisions
freeing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from liabilities related to
information transmitted through websites they host, also authorizes the
courts to order disclosure of information. “Under certain circumstances,
this could force journalists to reveal their sources, in breach of
their legal right and professional ethical duty to sources
confidentiality,” said Barbara Trionfi, IPI Press Freedom Manager.

The Cybercrime Bill, 2014
was introduced on May 1 in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament.
According to local sources, a few members of the media were approached
by the National Security Minister on June 18, ahead of four-day long
weekend, to analyse any possible concerns on the cybercrime legislation.
Yet, they were given until June 24 to present any apprehensions
regarding the bill.

“A process of public consultation before a bill is introduced to
Parliament is an important step in any democratic system. This allows
stakeholders and groups that will be affected by the new legislation to
provide input and advice and eventually leads to greater transparency
and accountability in the law-making process,” Bethel McKenzie
explained. “Two working days is not an acceptable time frame for such a
consultation, as it does not leave sufficient time for relevant
stakeholders to develop an informed opinion and provide relevant
feed-back on complex draft legislation.”

“We ask that the Parliament give more time to the members of the
media to highlight concerns in areas in which the bill, if passed, would
affect journalists' ability to carry out their work,” she added.

“One of the major concerns with regard to the Cybercrime Bill, 2014
is that it entirely lacks a clear public interest section,” IPI pointed
out. ”Journalists must be able to collect and disseminate information
about issues of public concern. The lack of a public interest clause
effectively limits many forms of investigative journalism.”

"The International Press Institute reminds the Trinidad and Tobago
government that while we welcomed their efforts to partially
decriminalise defamation earlier this year, we are deeply concerned
about the steps to introduce legislation that may infringe on the rights
of journalists and other civil groups in the twin-island nation."

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